Using Bento Boxes for lunches.

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Replies

  • Alliwan
    Alliwan Posts: 1,245 Member
    cindytw wrote: »
    @Alliwan Thank You!! I am low carb Paleo, and HAVE to be gluten free!! So these fit in my diet perfectly! I am OK with what I do but I have to get hubby on program and these will help us both!

    @cindytw No Problem! I lean more primal than paleo and am gluten free but often those recipes overlap. Glad to find a fellow low carb bento-er. I love looking at all the pretty bento lunches everyone makes here. It is great to know that even tho we have to eat differently due to health reasons, we can still have pretty bento lunches too :smiley:
  • SpecialKitty7
    SpecialKitty7 Posts: 678 Member
    madiao wrote: »
    Walking through the shops today and found a new bento box in a shop that I didn't even think sold lunch boxes. So excited!

    Does anyone else get this excited about new lunch boxes? Hehe :smiley:

    Sadly, yes. :smiley:

  • PixieGoddess
    PixieGoddess Posts: 1,833 Member
    Well, I brought a bento for today....but then the Yatai cart posted their specials for today, including the Snow Roll: fresh salmon, marinated shitakes, scallions, avocado, cucumber sushi handroll

    Oishii!!! :3 Oh and a big bowl of miso soup too
  • mangrothian
    mangrothian Posts: 1,351 Member
    edited March 2015
    madiao wrote: »
    Walking through the shops today and found a new bento box in a shop that I didn't even think sold lunch boxes. So excited!

    Does anyone else get this excited about new lunch boxes? Hehe :smiley:

    I know I've posted a picture of my collection somewhere in this thread before (which has increased since then too :neutral_face: ) I get extremely excited. Or I see how large they make children's lunch boxes and get sad when I see how much junk food for lunch some children eat each day.
    Well, I brought a bento for today....but then the Yatai cart posted their specials for today, including the Snow Roll: fresh salmon, marinated shitakes, scallions, avocado, cucumber sushi handroll

    Oishii!!! :3 Oh and a big bowl of miso soup too

    そですか?とても おいしいい です!

    I did a similar thing yesterday as well. Bought a sashimi donburi from a local store. So good. Sashimi, salad, rice and tofu. No miso soup though :(

    I had make up class last night to cove for the class I'll miss on good Friday, so I got home after 11 and didn't make my bento today. Unless you count a bowl of instant kitsune udon, some dumplings I grabbed from the freezer and some instant rice porridge for breakfast. The sodium content is gonna make me explode....
  • PixieGoddess
    PixieGoddess Posts: 1,833 Member
    Well, I brought a bento for today....but then the Yatai cart posted their specials for today, including the Snow Roll: fresh salmon, marinated shitakes, scallions, avocado, cucumber sushi handroll

    Oishii!!! :3 Oh and a big bowl of miso soup too

    そですか?とても おいしいい です!

    So, so! :) (And I was so glad I could read that with how rusty my hiragana - and katakana, for that matter - has been lately!)

    Sooo....a handroll and soup are not nearly as much as I usually eat for lunch, so I pulled out my bento and ate the small tier (pickle, turkey breast, almonds, chocolate cherries) as a snack. I'll probably eat the big tier (shrimp lo mein) as my pre-choir practice dinner, and then get something else at home after practice.

    p5a2g2fuwmsc.jpg
  • cindytw
    cindytw Posts: 1,027 Member
    edited March 2015
    I did pretty well in a hurry this morning! r1rpffxu1t7z.jpg

    I definitely have succumbed to the Bento Bug! It has been fun for me!

    @Alliwan, yes it is nice to find others with similar constraints! I want to be Primal, but dairy is *sigh* bothering my tummy and my sinuses! I am a cheese and Greek yogurt addict too! Mostly cheese! :s I am also not digesting grains well either at ALL! Even white rice bloats me right up! :'( I guess I would still do it most of the time because its good for me and I believe I get better nutrition, but I would like to be able to go off plan without wrecking myself! Which I do every time, so it's sad!
  • mmitri12
    mmitri12 Posts: 8 Member
    I use Bento for work lunches as well-have been for the past couple of years. I generally can stretch the rice for two days, unless I didn't pack a snack, then I finish off the rice. I get my recipes from the Just Bento cookbook.
  • kramrn77
    kramrn77 Posts: 375 Member
    First bento in a while. It's starting to warm up here, the bluebonnets are on full display. So starting to experiment with lunches that can weather the weather here in a Texas summer. The bottom is just celery and whipped peanut butter and a rice roller I decided I wanted at the last minute. The top is raw cashews and freeze dried strawberries and Annie's bunny gummies. Also a gluten free granola bar for the slump I sometimes get.
    Lunch is just over 530 calories (all those nuts make it a bit higher- but they withstand heat well!) and the bar is 110. yv3zb753w8if.jpg
  • SpecialKitty7
    SpecialKitty7 Posts: 678 Member
    edited March 2015
    @kramrn77 that rice roller looks tasty! If I like rice cakes, would I like those? I spy them over on amazon.com....

    I love poofy foods that take up a lot of volume for small calories.
  • NewMeSM75
    NewMeSM75 Posts: 971 Member
    b9czo4jebp8k.jpg

    Mine isn't near as pretty as most of yours. I love all of your creativity.

    This is just cajun chicken, cocktail tomatoes, bruschetta jack cheese and baby carrots.
  • kramrn77
    kramrn77 Posts: 375 Member
    @SpecialKitty7‌
    You'd probably like them. They are slightly sweet, but not overwhelmingly so. At 45 calories a roll, I really love them. I usually get them at the Korean store near my house. They come in a huge pack. My hubby whips through them like wildfire though!

  • PixieGoddess
    PixieGoddess Posts: 1,833 Member
    No bento yesterday (had to buy lunch) or today (brought leftover pizza) :( I need to go grocery shopping...
  • SpecialKitty7
    SpecialKitty7 Posts: 678 Member
    Thanks @kramrn77 if i see them in the store, i'll give them a whirl! On a side note, my carrot gem wraps came in yesterday that @cindytw introduced us to. I think i'll have time tonight to bento something with them for lunch tomorrow! Turkey and avocado maybe?
  • colejkeene
    colejkeene Posts: 84 Member
    I recently bought my husband a box from Monbento to pack his lunches. All the lunch boxes we had previously were too colorful for him so we wanted to get something a little more masculine (he works with a bunch of engineers and needs to save face, haha).

    One of the first meals I made for him was Vegan Thai Noodle Soup (the recipe is on my blog, Willow & Thyme. He loved it!

    Also, this box is so well constructed. I cannot believe we waited so long to pick one up!

    monbento-soup-fw.jpg
  • cindytw
    cindytw Posts: 1,027 Member
    @colejkeene‌ I like the grown-up look! I have not had any actual Japanese or oriental meals yet. Just made our regular Paleo lunches look good!
  • SpecialKitty7
    SpecialKitty7 Posts: 678 Member
    I gave it a go! Here's turkey, havarti & avocado wrapped in a carrot gem wrap, bolthouse farms yogurt ranch dressing, a salad cucumber and a raspberry fig bar. It's actually pretty good, i was a bit worried when i made the rolls, as the wrap was really like a fruit roll up, but overnight they softened and just kind of molded to my roll.

    e8utzy267sdo.jpg

    I made a lazy gal's snack box too, but haven't been hungry for it yet.
  • cindytw
    cindytw Posts: 1,027 Member
    @SpecialKitty7‌ they do need to sit if you expect soft. I didn't know when I first got them I just ate them chewy and all! When you haven't had a wrap in years, who cares if its chewy?!
  • SpecialKitty7
    SpecialKitty7 Posts: 678 Member
    edited March 2015
    cindytw wrote: »
    @SpecialKitty7‌ they do need to sit if you expect soft. I didn't know when I first got them I just ate them chewy and all! When you haven't had a wrap in years, who cares if its chewy?!

    <- giggles! Yeah, I thought they were going to stay chewy. Glad they didn't, it was pretty good, and an interesting wrap. I don't care much for tortilla wraps on sandwiches as they are always kind of raw flour tasting, but this was fun. I'm going to have to get creative with my next round!

    eta: I don't have any dietary restrictions, I just like trying new things :smile:

  • madiao
    madiao Posts: 119 Member
    @colejkeene that looks delicious!

    How did your husband go with the Monbento box? I looked at those a while ago but was put off by the fact you can only microwave them at about 500W
  • colejkeene
    colejkeene Posts: 84 Member
    madiao wrote: »
    @colejkeene that looks delicious!

    How did your husband go with the Monbento box? I looked at those a while ago but was put off by the fact you can only microwave them at about 500W

    He actually transfers things into a glass bowl I gave him to keep at the office. We don't like microwaving anything- even if it say it's "safe". Might be a bit hippy of us, but we both seem to agree, so it works for us. :)

  • jhhouder
    jhhouder Posts: 2 Member
    I have packed Bento lunches for a month now and am really enjoying them. I typically pack my lunch the night before and it always includes a naval orange. brown rice or soba noodles, grilled salmon or tuna and a salad ( lettuce, radish and carrot with ginger dressing). I am really enjoying the experience and wish I thought about going Bento years ago!
  • ukaryote
    ukaryote Posts: 860 Member
    I guess it is déclassé to use a lunchbox like I have since second grade and continued through working at the machine shop? I miss them.
  • madiao
    madiao Posts: 119 Member
    colejkeene wrote: »

    He actually transfers things into a glass bowl I gave him to keep at the office. We don't like microwaving anything- even if it say it's "safe". Might be a bit hippy of us, but we both seem to agree, so it works for us. :)

    Ahh that makes sense :)

    9j49xwtwq8zt.jpg

    Had a picnic lunch bento with the husband today. Salmon sushi, salmon and tuna sushimi, salad and fruit :smile:
  • mangrothian
    mangrothian Posts: 1,351 Member

    I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!
    madiao wrote: »
    Had a picnic lunch bento with the husband today. Salmon sushi, salmon and tuna sushimi, salad and fruit :smile:
    that looks yum!

    I finally had time to make a bento. I missed having them for most of last week :(

    Tomorrows is my standard bento, but I had another go at shaping my eggs and failed. I used extra large eggs, but they still didn't mould properly. I've just come to the conclusion that my egg moulds are huge. Underneath the veg there's also some red wine vinegar chicken. It totals about 500Cal.
    f3kkixoj08u9.jpg

  • ScreamingInside
    ScreamingInside Posts: 10 Member
    I gave it a go! Here's turkey, havarti & avocado wrapped in a carrot gem wrap, bolthouse farms yogurt ranch dressing, a salad cucumber and a raspberry fig bar. It's actually pretty good, i was a bit worried when i made the rolls, as the wrap was really like a fruit roll up, but overnight they softened and just kind of molded to my roll.

    e8utzy267sdo.jpg

    I made a lazy gal's snack box too, but haven't been hungry for it yet.

    Thank you for sharing and I'm wondering what the gem wraps are. I've never heard of them. Also you might want to consider checking your dollar stores for small containers to hold your dressings/sauces so they don't spill and make things soggy. I've found leak proof plastic containers (have 4 locking flaps and gasket in lid) for $4 a piece about a year ago at Save-A-Lot and at Big Lots some small plastic shot glass type things with lids that don't spill for $1-2 around the same time and still see them there periodically. Bento = box in Japanese. I take that to mean I should use what I find works that's within my budget.

  • ScreamingInside
    ScreamingInside Posts: 10 Member
    I've been making bentos for over 6 years for my daughter. Started after she met a girl in school who's mom is from Okinawa and she (my girl) became interested and we found we liked the foods. The problem I find are side dishes and having rice everyday. 1 cup steamed rice is 204 calories and rice is supposed to be 1/3-1/2 of the bento (traditionally) so the calories add up. Without it I get hungry very fast so I balance the calories with veggies but these tend be mostly the same color....green. Ideas on how to fix it with minimal use of tomatoes? Tummy can't take the acid.
  • ScreamingInside
    ScreamingInside Posts: 10 Member
    madiao wrote: »
    colejkeene wrote: »

    He actually transfers things into a glass bowl I gave him to keep at the office. We don't like microwaving anything- even if it say it's "safe". Might be a bit hippy of us, but we both seem to agree, so it works for us. :)

    Ahh that makes sense :)

    9j49xwtwq8zt.jpg

    Had a picnic lunch bento with the husband today. Salmon sushi, salmon and tuna sushimi, salad and fruit :smile:

    Do you make the sashimi yourselves or purchase it then pack it? It looks yummy but I can't do it here at home. No idea how to filet anything!
  • KeriA
    KeriA Posts: 3,345 Member
    great post! I am starting a new job in a week and have some time off before so I may look into this. I was semi-aware of bento boxes but all these links are great.
    Thanks
  • SpecialKitty7
    SpecialKitty7 Posts: 678 Member
    I gave it a go! Here's turkey, havarti & avocado wrapped in a carrot gem wrap, bolthouse farms yogurt ranch dressing, a salad cucumber and a raspberry fig bar. It's actually pretty good, i was a bit worried when i made the rolls, as the wrap was really like a fruit roll up, but overnight they softened and just kind of molded to my roll.

    e8utzy267sdo.jpg

    I made a lazy gal's snack box too, but haven't been hungry for it yet.

    Thank you for sharing and I'm wondering what the gem wraps are. I've never heard of them. Also you might want to consider checking your dollar stores for small containers to hold your dressings/sauces so they don't spill and make things soggy. I've found leak proof plastic containers (have 4 locking flaps and gasket in lid) for $4 a piece about a year ago at Save-A-Lot and at Big Lots some small plastic shot glass type things with lids that don't spill for $1-2 around the same time and still see them there periodically. Bento = box in Japanese. I take that to mean I should use what I find works that's within my budget.

    One of the girls in the thread here is a paleo eater (I think that's what she is, or maybe it was gluten free, I forget) she had mentioned them and I purchased them on amazon. They are basically a vegetable fruit roll up that you use in place of flour tortilla shells.

    I have a ton of small containers, just nothing that fit in that space, so i took a risk on the ranch spilling. :smile:

    Most of my bento are Japanese style, I just like trying out new things.

  • madiao
    madiao Posts: 119 Member

    Do you make the sashimi yourselves or purchase it then pack it? It looks yummy but I can't do it here at home. No idea how to filet anything!

    I did make the sashimi! :smile: I bought a mold from the $2 shop to make the rice in the right size/shape and then just bought the fresh fish from the fresh fish shop near my house. I usually just ask the butcher person (are they still a butcher when they just work with fish??) to give me a thick but narrow piece of salmon and tuna and then just slice it up. Hope that makes sense!